INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord!

"You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you,”
 -2 Chronicles 20:17

Our God is a faithful God. Our God is a loving God. Our God is a caring God. He knows His people and He always takes good care of them. He never disappoints. He is an awesome God.

So many times we try to fight battles that aren't ours. We try to use our own limited strength to fight a battle that is too big for us. We depend on our own limited understanding and methods. When we fail we get hard on ourselves. We shift blame to others. We even shift the blame to God.

When you walk with God you learn to recognize and listen to His voice. He is the one to tell you when to attack. He is the one to tell you to keep on fighting. He is the one to tell you to stop and watch. He is our Shepherd and we are His sheep. Jesus said, "My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me." (John 10:27). He is the Commander in our lives. We have to do whatever He commands us to do.

As I am writing this I hear the song by Jimmy Swaggart stirring in my heart 

"His voice makes the difference,  

when He speaks He relieves my troubled mind, 

it’s the only voice I hear that makes the difference, 

and I’ll follow one day at a time."

There is no way you are going to listen and follow His commands if you do not trust in Him. You have to believe that He is the good Shepherd and He will lead you to greener pastures. Along the way you will walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It won't be easy and they will be many voices that will try to deceive you but do not be afraid, just listen to His voice.

We are always in a battle. Trials and tribulations are always looking to pull us down. Sometimes we even ask why bad things happen to good people. My dear friend, remember that there is the Word dwelling in you and it is because of that Word that tribulations or persecution will arise. We need the Lord to tell us how to approach the battle. 

I once said victory has been declared to our favour but we still have to go on and fight the good fight of faith. There are times when we don't have to fight at all but be still and watch God do His work. When the people of Moab, Ammon and others planned to attack Judah, Jehoshaphat, who was the king was afraid and set himself to seek the Lord. The people of Judah gathered together to seek the Lord's help.

God responded through Jahaziel. The Lord said, "You will not need to fight in this battle. Position yourselves, stand still and see the salvation of the LORD, who is with you, O Judah and Jerusalem!’ Do not fear or be dismayed; tomorrow go out against them, for the LORD is with you,” (2 Chronicles 20:17).

Jehoshaphat encouraged the people of Judah to believe in God. He appointed people to walk before the army and sing praises to the Lord. Amazingly the enemies fought and killed each other. Jehoshaphat and his people did not have to fight but believed in voice of the Lord.

My dear friend, you may be facing a huge battle ahead of you, just position yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord. God is with you. In the presence of the Lord there is fullness of joy. God is in the generation (company) of the righteous.

Not very long ago I was facing a huge battle and I cried to the Lord. My heart was troubled and I was confused. As I was spending time with my loving Father, reading His word and praying, His Spirit comforted me and led me to Jesus words, "Have faith in God" (Mark 11:20). 

Things got tougher but those words kept ringing in my mind - "Have faith in God". The enemy was saying "it's not going to happen" but I believed in God. I chose to listen to the promises of God and ignored the lies of the devil. I came to a point that I will not even bother focusing on the spiritual warfare but instead position myself, be still and see the salvation of the Lord. In the process God changed my prayer focus. He revealed to me Paul's words, "Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving" (Colossians 4:2).

At the end of the day God saved me from the evil plans of the enemy. I shall fear no evil!. The enemy did not give up the fight until the end but the Lord was victorious. At some point I was not in control and God was amazing as always. I sang a song of victory (my wedding went ahead as planned - in case you are wondering what am on about!).

My dear friend, whatever you are facing, know that you may not need to fight in this battle. Throw everything to God and position yourself, stand still and see the salvation of the Lord! 

INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: "...Do you love Me?"

"He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?..."(John 21:17)

If there is one disciple who acknowledged the love of Jesus is John. In at least five instances he referred to himself as the 'disciple whom Jesus loved'. It is not because he was Jesus' favourite disciple but because he realized how much Jesus loved Him. Jesus loves us the same way and to demonstrate His love He died for us all. He loved us whilst we were still His enemies. 

We just need to realize the width, length, depth and height of the love of Christ. The Apostle Paul says, "For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come,  nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39).

It is because of this everlasting love that we love our Lord Jesus, the King of kings, the Lord of righteousness! We serve Him because of His great love. When someone loves you dearly and sincerely you can't help it but return the love. 

Jesus is our King. We submit to His authority. He said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments." This is so amazing because He wants us to obey His commandments out of love. He is not forcing us to obey just because 'the Kings has spoken!' He wants us to feel free and happy to heed to His commandments. 

Do you love Jesus? "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him,” (John 14:21).

Oh what a wonderful promise! The only thing that Jesus requires from us is love. When you love Him He says He will love you and manifest Himself to you! What a privilege and honour to be loved by the King of Kings. He has promised that if we love Him He will reveal himself to us. Yes, He continually reveals Himself to me and that's why I love Him more and more. There is a song that goes, "Everyday with Jesus is sweeter than the day before!"

Even though He is the King, he does not regard us as subjects if we keep His commands. He says, "You are My friends if you do whatever I command you," (John 15:17). A friend is someone you can confide to, someone you can trust, someone you can count on take care of your best interests. This is what Jesus is to us and this is what He expects us to be to Him. We only have to do whatever He commands us to do and most importantly do it out of love.

Love is the royal command. "This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you," (John 15:12). My dear friends, we have to show love to one another. We have to take care of one another. There is no other way to declare our love to Jesus than to love the people around us. 

God wants to use you for His purpose, but there is one thing He requires from you... LOVE. He is not demanding it but He is giving you the chance to make a decision and to be convinced in your heart that you truly love Him. He knows everything but He wants you to think carefully if you indeed love Him.

Peter knows this better than anyone else; "He said to him the third time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love Me?” Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, “Do you love Me?” And he said to Him, “Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.” Jesus said to him, “Feed My sheep," (John 21:17).


Jesus is asking you today, "Do you love Me?" 

INSPIRATION FOR THE WEEK: "...cling to Me"

"For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the LORD, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’ (Jeremiah 13:11).

I can't help but feel God's disappointment with His own people whenever I read the book of Jeremiah. The people that God chose as His own special treasure had decided to drift away from Him. They had decided not to obey His commands. They had decided to deny Him as their God, who has on many occasions helped them through difficult times. They had made a choice to deviate from the divine plan that God had for them. The disobeyed His call for repentance as proclaimed by the prophets.

My dear friend, we are the spiritual Israel. We are God's chosen generation and we are so special to Him. Let us not disappoint Him. He has chosen us for a specific reason. Through us His name should be known everywhere we go (renown). Through us God must be praised. Through us God must be glorified. We are His people and He is our God. 

The people of Israel did not listen to God's voice. God wanted them to cling to Him but they would not hear. They were caught up in their worldly desires. Even though we are the chosen ones today, we should not forget that we are still living in the world. If we fail to cling to God we are making ourselves susceptible to worldly forces that will drive us farther away from our dear God. 

Before Joshua died, He warned the people of Israel to cling to God and not associate themselves with the lifestyles of the nations they found in the Promised Land because "...they shall be snares and traps to you, and scourges on your sides and thorns in your eyes, until you perish from this good land which the LORD your God has given you," (Joshua 23:13). 

Let us not lose what we have by failing to cling to God. The word cling is defined as to hold fast to something; to adhere as if glued firmly; to hold on tightly or tenaciously. That is what God is expecting from us. God made Jeremiah to wear the linen sash around his waist before telling him go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock. Later he told Him to go and fetch the sash. Jeremiah says, "Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing," (Jeremiah 13:7).

God wants you to be profitable for His kingdom. You are an ambassador for Christ. You are an ambassador for the kingdom of God. Therefore God wants to profit from you. He wants to be known through you. He wants to be praised because of the way you conduct yourself. You are the light of the world and God's glory must shine through you. 

All you have to do is to cling to Him like the linen sash on a man's waist. Biblically, linen is a symbol of righteousness and purity. Even though we are in this crooked world, we have to exhibit the righteousness and holiness of God and He shall be glorified. If we cling to God, He will make sure that He takes care of us because whatever happens to us, His name is on the line, and He shall not allow his name to be ridiculed. 

My dear friend, God wants you to stay with Him and He will stay with you. He has promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. Let us rejoice "For God is with the generation of the righteous," (Psalm 14:5). 

Whatever happens, God is saying, "Cling to me!"